New Rug

 Okay, so not so new. I've had this pattern for two, maybe three years now. It is Warm Friendship, drawn up by Red Barn Rugs. I wanted it to have more lines and squiggles than as drawn, so I added in some.

I find starting a new rug the most difficult part. I want it to turn out like what is in my mind. I know, scary, right? Often I'm just winging it and deciding colors as I go. I do have a picture of this one and I'll use it as a guide. 

I went through my worms. I think I have enough  (and then some) to do all but the dark brown around the words. 

My helpers for the day, Henry and Daisy. 

Have a good day, Sue 

Low Country Garden

 I finally finished it!!!!! The Low Country Garden by Visions of Ewe. 

That dreaded floral rug. It's been years in the making. I finally decided there was just too many varieties of flowers. So I changed out like 8-9 of them and finished hooking it. It is steamed, zigzagged the edges ( because I don't have a serger ), turned the excess linen up and secured it. Now it is waiting to be bound. I use wool strips and bind kind of like a quilt binding. I learned this technique from Lauren of Rugs n Pugs. I have found through the years that when I've whipped the edges it sometimes gets worn spots that unravel a bit. Even when I've used a good wool yarn. My rug looks so much smaller once the excess linen is trimmed. I'm going to use the same wool for binding that I used for the background. Here's that wool. I can't seem to get a good picture of it. 

I got so eager for spring, and it's been so warm that I put out a few annual in pots and planted a few tomatoes and peppers. Now for tonight there is a frost warning. So I'm gathering up the pots and covering up the tender plants. I sure hope this is the last frost.

Have a good evening, 

Sue

I think my next project will be the Friendship rug. I've had this pattern for a couple of years. I plan to hook it using worms. I have a butt load of them. The sad part is it probably will only make a small dent in the worms. I've made several hit n miss rugs, anyone have any suggestions to use up your worms??

But wait, there's more

 On top of my inground gardens, I've been busy with my flower pots too.

This one is my mother's day gift from my son Jeremy and his wife, Cahlah. Later today we're having a cookout with ribeye steaks, potatoes, salad, and I made a peanut butter eclair cake for dessert.

I have one more pot I want to plant. It's not really a pot. It's an old copper wash tub.one leg was sinking into the ground making it totally unlevel. To level it out I had to remove the plants, and all the dirt. And boy, there was a lot of dirt in there. I'll show that one once it's replanted.

Hope y'all have a great mother's day.

Sue

Yay!! It's Springtime

 I get so excited every spring. I love watching the flowers come up and bloom, the trees get their leaves, the spring birds are back and singing to me. I love spring. It's my favorite season. 

This is a work on progress. I have just had this fence installed last week. Because... Little Daisy is a runner. I'm so tired of chasing her, and apologizing to my neighbors. The first day she learned that she could repeatedly pounce on the back gate and it would open. So I've fixed that issue. The second day she figured out she could escape by going under the front gate. So I put rocks there. She moved the rocks, so I had to dig it out and add a wider step. Oh Daisy. She chews on my flowers. She sure keeps me busy. And not in a good way.

This flower garden was new last year. I moved some of the flowers in from other parts of the yard, Lauren of Rugs n Pugs gave me some, I bought some from my local "flower lady". She sells perennial starts for $1.50-$4.00. and a couple from the local nursery. I enjoy visiting the Mennonite nurseries the most.

I hurt my back working on this flower garden last year. It put me down for a couple weeks. Dr said it was sciatica. That's the worse pain I ever had, even worse than having back surgery. I couldn't even sit to go to the bathroom. Peed in a cup. Yep, bad times. But my lovely granddaughter helped out, as did two of my neighbors. Got my meds, made meals, pottied the dog. I only had Henry back then. 

So this area did not get many plants last year. I am adding many this year. Poppies, Asian lilies, canna lilies, iris, primroses just to name a few.

This is one side yard. Lexi and and dug out the lily of the valley flowers. They simply took over. Even the hostas became stunted.

So, did I ever tell you? Springtime is my favorite season. Now go plant something. 

Sue 

Hooking Update (it's about time!)

 Yesterday I finally made it to my nearest rug hooking shop, Wool Yankers, in Wellington Ohio. It is run and owned by the sweetest lady, Connie Bradley. Anyways, she helped me sew together the purse pattern I've been working on. For years. 

This pattern I bought many years ago from Woolley Fox. It is called Magdalena's Animals. I worked and reworked those animals. I probably should have put in beauty lines to outline the animals a bit. But to be honest, I'm tired of working on it. 

I got the handles off of a purse from Goodwill. I haven't decided if I'll use the two smaller straps or the single long strap. And I still need to make and install the lining. But I'm getting there. I can visualize it. 

Connie showed me how to sew it up. I have a few more stitches to go 

While waiting for my turn to pick Connie's brain and talent, I worked on my Low Country Garden rug. I finally realized my issue with this rug was the actual pattern. I ended up changing out many of the smaller flowers and simplified it. There was just too many different kinds of flowers that I just couldn't pull together. I'm almost done. I should be able to complete the hooking portion in a few more sessions. 

I don't hook when Mac is here. It's too boring for a 5 year old. He does like my sewing room. So I'm able to sew/quilt a bit almost every day. I mostly make quilts for the kids with diseases/disabilities who can attend a special summer camp that has doctors, nurses, and lots of medical equipment. For years I was a cancer nurse, then dialysis. So having a camp for kids with medical needs touches my heart. 

Daisy, my helper for the day.

Sue